Hungarian Bean Soup
This recipe is essentially the same as one published in Gourmet Magazine August 1980. In my version I do not pre-soak the beans and use oil rather than lard for the roux. The best bean soup I have ever had and perhaps my favorite soup, period!
This recipe is essentially the same as one published in Gourmet Magazine August 1980. In my version I do not pre-soak the beans and use oil rather than lard for the roux. The best bean soup I have ever had and perhaps my favorite soup, period!
- 2 bay leaves
- sour cream for serving
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup onion minced
- 1 pound pinto beans dried
- 8 cups water
- 3/4 pound smoked pork chops bone-in
- 2 tb. garlic minced
- 1/4 tsp. pepper ground
- 3/4 cup turnip peeled and chopped
- 3/4 cup celery chopped
- 1/2 cup carrot chopped
- 1/2 pound smoked sausage quartered and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 3 tb. flour
- 2 tb. parsley minced
- 1 tsp. garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp hot hungarian paprika
- Carbohydrate 22.6189669559044 g
- Cholesterol 47.034256434375 mg
- Fat 19.5265838953842 g
- Fiber 6.17874696215231 g
- Protein 17.9960907698129 g
- Saturated Fat 4.70844610609355 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (297g)
- Sodium 283.06728454106 mg
- Sugar 16.4402199937521 g
- Trans Fat 2.13265219061657 g
- Calories 336 calories
Step-by-step
- Pick over and rinse beans.
- Add beans to a pot along with the water, smoked pork chops, garlic, pepper and bay leaves.
- Bring to a boil and simmer covered for about 1 & 1/2 hours.
- The beans will initially float but will sink after about 30 minutes.
- Add the turnip, celery and carrot and cook over moderate heat uncovered for about 45 more minutes.
- The beans should be beginning to fall apart at this point and the soup should be thickening.
- If not cook longer or mash some of the beans against the side of the pot.
- Remove the pork chops and allow the meat to cool.
- Remove the meat from the bones and dice.
- Return the pork chops to the pot along with the smoked sausage.
- In a small saucepan heat the oil over moderate heat.
- When it is hot add the flour and cook the roux , stirring for 1 minute.
- Add the onion, parsley, garlic, and paprika and cook, stirring for 2 minutes.
- Stir the mixture into the pot and cook over moderate heat, stirring for 5 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove the bay leaves.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream.
Fresh Versus Preserved Elements in the Pot
Why are the beans refusing to soften even though the timer passed the ninety-minute mark? Water chemistry and bean age dictate cooking duration far more than any printed recipe, meaning old legumes stored too long in a pantry will require significantly more liquid and thermal energy to break down their complex starches. Dried pinto beans simmer alongside smoked pork chops and bay leaves without any overnight soaking step, allowing the cellular structure of the legume to absorb the rendered pork fat directly as it hydrates. Smoked meats introduce both deep phenolic flavor compounds and substantial sodium, which interacts with the pectin in the bean skins to alter their final texture. When adding root vegetables like turnips, carrots, and celery after the initial simmering phase, monitor the pot closely because diced vegetables dropped into acidic bean broth cook at varying rates depending on their exact sugar density.
Technique Pitfalls and the Roux Integration
Rushing the thickening stage or burning the paprika are the most frequent errors that compromise this style of soup. Canola oil heats in a separate pan to cook the flour into a blonde roux for exactly one minute before aromatics enter the pan, preventing raw flour flavors from muddying the broth. Minced onion, parsley, garlic, and hot Hungarian paprika join that oil mixture for two additional minutes of frying to bloom the fat-soluble capsaicinoids in the spice completely. Stirring this paste directly into the bubbling bean pot creates a stable emulsion that thickens the broth naturally over five minutes of moderate heat without scorching the bottom of the vessel. Discarding the bay leaves and finishing each bowl with a cold sour cream dollop balances the concentrated salt and smoke from the sausage and bone-in chops.
